KIRKUS REVIEW

Fly Guy buzzes in for his 16th
outing, with a funny story combining ninja magnetism with the arrival of Santa,
all wrapped up in a sparkly, silver cover.

Fly Guy’s owner, a white boy named
Buzz, is reading a book called Night of the Ninja, sparking the talking
fly’s curiosity about all things ninja. When Fly Guy spots Santa (white,
white-bearded, and red-suited) in the living room, the intrepid insect flies
into action with a karate kick and his battle cry: “Ninjazzzz!” After knocking
Santa into the tree, Fly Guy befriends the man in red and asks for his help with
a gift for Buzz. On Christmas morning, Buzz opens his last present to find Fly
Guy inside, along with a ninja knight costume, and Fly Guy receives a red ninja
outfit from Buzz. The humorous story is short and accessible to new readers,
with just a few lines of text per page, interspersed with Fly Guy’s pithy
comments, usually ending in lots of Z’s. Cartoon-style illustrations are drolly
comical, with all the characters sporting bulgy eyes similar to those of their
favorite pet fly. And Fly Guy himself is quite an appealing character
(especially for a traditionally pesky insect), always coming across as cute
instead of gross, even when he’s eating Santa’s cookies.

Coming up with an easy-to-read,
original Christmas story with a funny plot is a tall order, but the addition of
the popular ninja theme sends this one soaring. (Early reader. 4-8)

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